While we are beginning to understand the individual- and household-level processes that predict father involvement, we know less about the institutional factors that influence these processes. I seek to better understand the ways in which father involvement is socially constructed in modern welfare states. This research is designed to answer three questions: 1) Are there cross-national differences in the time fathers spend with their children? 2) Are there cross-national differences in the individual- and household-level mechanisms associated with father involvement? 3) Do these cross-national differences in levels and/or effects correspond to predicted relationships between institutional context and father involvement? I plan to standardize four national time use surveys conducted in the early 2000s in the United States and Europe and craft innovative measures of father involvement. I will use a variety of statistical techniques to understand variation between and within these countries, and I will employ a focused case-study approach to understanding these differences. The project has the potential to add to our understanding of mechanisms that influence father involvement, to advance the field through an integration of multiple levels of analysis, and to inform policy that encourages active fathering.